What Does Philosophy Have To Do with Prophecy?

WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN that in Gersonides’ theories of providence and of miracles the prophet plays an important role. As the recipient of the highest level of individual providence the prophet receives information that is not only of benefit to himself but is also providential for the community to which he is sent. And as a crucial factor in the occurrence of miracles, albeit not their real efficient cause, the prophet appears to have a special role in those moments in human history when the normal routine seems to be annulled and something strange but providential occurs. Prophecy is, then, an essential element in biblical religion; indeed, it is the very medium through which the Bible itself is revealed. Prophetic utterances and messages in the Bible are not just forecasts; they transmit an entire legal and religious system. It is therefore no wonder that in his theological creed Maimonides lists prophecy as one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.

However, unlike the problems of creation, divine foreknowledge, and providence, prophecy was of little interest to the Hellenic philosophers. In their minds it was virtually indistinguishable from divination and oracles, which had no epistemic validity or value. In his Timaeus, Plato locates the power of divination in the liver, where raw biology reigns. This is the locus and source of premonitions and forecasts, especially those in dreams:

Although there are some passages in Plato where the notion of prophecy as divine madness is expressed in apparently positive language, that it is a form of madness is more indicative of Plato's real view. Indeed, shortly after he praises it, he demotes it to the fifth level of the types of soul, below the soul of the physician and above the soul of the poet and painter.